Non-communicable diseases

What's a non-communicable disease?

A disease which cannot be spread from person to person

disease

An abnormal condition of all or part of the body, or its systems or organs, that makes the body incapable of carrying on normal function.

ways diseases can be classed

-timescale

-number of causes

-infectious

-inherited

-mental disorder

risk factor

anything that increases the chance of developing a diease

Modifiable risk factors

changeable or controllable

Non-modifiable risk factors

age, gender, family history(things that cannot be changed nor controlled)

causal mechanism

the process by which a cause brings an effect

Proven risk factors for these diseases:

CVD

Type 2 diabetes

Liver and brain damage

lung disease, including lung cancer

skin cancer

low birth weight in babies

brain damage in babies

CVD-lack of exercise, smoking, high intake

Type 2 diabetes-obesity

Liver and brain damage-excessive alcohol intake

lung disease, including lung cancer-smoking

skin cancer-lonising radiation, e.g. UV light

low birth weight in babies-smoking during pregnancy

brain damage in babies-excessive alcohol intake during pregnancy

cancer

-non communicable disease

-caused by incontrollable cells division (which can form masses of cells called tumors)

Life style risk factors:

-smoking

-obesity

-common viruses

-UV exposure

genetic risk factors:

-runs in family e.g. some genes make the carrier more susceptible to certain types of breast cancer

2 main types of tumors

benign -tumors that do not spread around the body

malignant-tumors spread, in the blood, to different parts of the body where they form secondary tumors